Improvement in sewing-machines



2 Sheets-Sheet 1. J. C. DAY.

Sewing Machine.

Patented Sept. 15, 1863.

Phnlwumognph'er. Washington. a, c.

2' Sheets-Sheet-Z. J. C. DAY. Sewing Machine.

Patented Sep' t. 15, 1863.

WkW

N. PETERS. Photo-Lithograph", Waslunglofl. D C.

UNITED STATES PATENT ()FFICE.

' JOSEPH C(DAY, OF JERSEY CITY, NEW JERSEY.

IMPROVEMENT lN SEWING-MACHINES Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 39,892, dated September 15, 1236 T 0 all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, JOSEPH C. DAY. ot'Jer sey City, in the county of Hudson and State of New Jersey, have invented certain new and nsct'ullmp'rovementsin Sewing-Machines; and

1 do hereby declare that the iollowing is a full, clear, and exact description of the same, reference being bad to the accompanying drawings, and to theletters of reference marked thereon, in which- Figure 1 isa plan view with portions removed. Fig. 2 is aside elevation. Fig.3 is a plan of the looper on a larger scale. Fig. 4 is an elevation of the same. Fig. 5 is a section through S S in Figs. 3 and 4. Fig.6 isa like section through S S. Figs. 7, 8, 9, and 10 are diagrams illustrating the action of the needle and looper in the act of forming the stitch. Fig. 11 is a general perspective view of the machine complete.

Similar letters of reference indicate like parts in all the figures. I

To enable others skilled in the art to make 1 and use my invention, I will proceed to describe its construction and operation by the aid of the accompanying drawings. V

A is the table, supported by the standards B. Thistable may be circular, as represented, or of any other convenient shape.

In peculiar hearings in the standards B, I

'mounta shaft, 0, having a pulley, (3, from a belt on which it receives its motion, and a crank, C, from which all the motions of the machine are derived.

D is the needle-bar, hung in bearings at the side of the table, and connected by'the connection D with thecrank C". At the other end of D the eye-pointed needle R is attached by means of groove U and screw-head V.

At the point E in front of the needle I hang little distance therefrom is the eye 1, from which,on the ontsidethe side toward the needle-runs a groove, 2, in which the thread lies when passing the needle to prevent abrasion therefrom. At a period farther fromthe end i is another eye,- 3, between which and 1 there is on the inner sidev another groove, in which the thread lies to prevent its being effected by the friction of the needle-thread moving along on the looper. Near to 3 is a third eye, 4, joined to 3 by'a groove on the outer side of the looper and cut so deep as to be nearly in line with it, so that the thread lies innearly a straight line from 1 to 4, from which latter it extends over a light spring.f, to the spool Z, which is placed on a spindle attached to F. The needle-thread y extends from a spool, Y, upon the needle-bar Dover the end of a light spring, 01, and guide at, and thence through the eyeof the needle It. A thin flat spring,

H, is fiastened under the table Awith'its end under the point of the needle lt,'against'which it presses as the looper leaves the needle, remaining in contact with the needle until the looper again comes in contact with the needle, for the purpose of steadying the needle and preventing it from springing away from the looper or allowing the looper to go behind it, whereby a stitch would be missed or the thread broken. A forked spring, I i, is attached to the bell crank leve1-F,which alternately presses with its longer prong, I, against the side of the needle .and the end of the looper, and serves the important purpose of holding the loop for the looper to enter.

The stitch is what is knownas the double lock-stitch, composed of the interlocking loops of two threads, and the'manner in which itis formed is clearly shown in Figs. 7, 8,9, and 10. .It will be observed that the needle and looper both receive their motions from the crank (3 and consequently have both a continuouslyreciprocating motion in the same time, though of diEerent lengths of stroke. Theyarc so 'arranged relatively each to the other that they cross each others path alternately, thus-inter weaving their threads and forming a stitch. In Fig. 7 the looper G is retiring and the needle R hasjust punctured the cloth for a new stitch. As it passes the looper its point strikes the looper near the top of the recess 5 (see Figs. 3 and 6) and slides down in contact therewith, being deflected slightly outward thereby. In this operation the needle passes between thelooper and the looper-thread, which extends from the eye 1 to the last stitch formed, in the manner represented by the twisted thread.

As the looper retires from the needle and the latter continues its downward motion the looper-thread Z is left around the needle, which carries its own thread y through the loop thus formed. When the crank passes its center and both the needle and looper commence theirreturn movements the needle-thread is slackened and forms into a bow or loop, the forked 1 spring I iretaining this loop in proper position for the entrance of G as the looper passes the path of the needle, the spring H holding the point of the needle antl preventing any pos-' 'sibility of its springing out of the way of G as thelatterapproaches it. Thisposition is shown in Fig. 8. It will be observed that the loop as it forms passes between I and 'i, and is thereby held and prevented from turning to either spring 102 such action is prevented. As the parts continue their motion the loo per passes through the loop in I and, striking the spring I, prevents any tendency of the loop to slip off,

while the needle retires from the cloth and leavestl eloopol'yaroundtheloopofZ,assh0wn in Fig. 9. As the several parts continue their motions to the end of their stroke and commence to return, the cloth is moved along to the right the length of a stitch, where it is firmly held, and the loop ot'y is slipped back upon the looper nearly to the eye 3. When the motion of R and G is now reversed the friction of the loop of 3 against the looper Gr tends to draw the former away from the path of the needle, so that the latter cannot again pass through it, as shown in Fig. 10, but allowin gthe needle topass between it and the eye 1,in order to interlock the thread Z therewith, as in Fig. 7. As the looper recedes from the needle in forming the new stitch the former loop is slipped off, and is drawn up by the action of the needle around the loopjust fortned in the thread Z, andthe stitch is finished. The spring F keeps the looper-thread tight during the motion of the latter, and prevents any tangling or kinking thereof; but when the tension of this spring becomes greater than the fricton on the spool, or when .it is drawn around so far that the thread passes in a straight line from the spool Z to the looper,

then a fresh quantity is taken from the spool.

, The spring dtakes up the slack of the needle thread and prevents the kinking thereof, but has not sufficient range to prevent the formation of a loop at the proper time for the passage of the looper.

1)?111 now describe the feeding mechanism and the manner of its action.

tion of F, is alternately forced under J and removed therefrom, thereby lifting the latter and hringingj into contact w th the cloth at the propertimeand then releasing it therefrom. To J, I attach a bar, L, by apivot, Z. This bar passes also over F, and atits other end is attached a slide or sleeve, M, which slides upon a bar, N. This latter bar is attached to A by a pivot. n, and is adjustable to various angles relatively to L by a screw, a, working in a slot in A. The slide M is kept in contact with N by a bar or spring, N. L receives its motion from the projection K and K upon F, which alternately come in contact with it and force itin opposite directions. It, now, the bar N is perpendicular to Lat the center of its movement, the latter receives little or no'end; wise motion, and consequently does not move J; but if N is placed at an angle thereto J receives an endwise motion just in proportion to the obliquity ot'N, and consequently the length of stitch is graduated simply by the adjustment of N by the screw n. The distance between K and K is such that K does not comein contact with L until K has raised J, and consequently j into contact with the cloth. K then strikes L and feeds along the cloth to the extent of the motion transmitted to 7'. In the interval between the completion of the stitch and the return for the next the,cloth is held firmly until the point and eye of the needle have passed through the cloth by the peculiar connection of the barN with the sleeve M. VhenF makes its return-stroke K does not come in contact with L until it has first passed from under J and the feederj is removed from contact with the cloth. The parts of the feed-motion are then returned to their first position withoutafl'ecting thecloth. The reciprocating movement of the connectingrod d is dividedinto four parts. The first half forward elevates the feed-bar, the second half forward gives the forward end movement of the feed-bar, starting it with acomparativelyquick motion, but finishing with a comparatively easy slow one, thus insuring that the momentum of the feed-bar shall not carry itself beyond the right point.

0 is a curved arm hung upon pivots at the back of the frame, one end, P, of which is shaped into a foot and bears upon the cloth just over the feeder j, while to the other end, directly underneath P, is attached a weight,

W, which keeps the foot P in contact with the cloth and supplies the necessary pressure for the properfeeding of the cloth. The spring Q, attached to the table at any convenient point, is so adjusted as to come in contactwith the spool Y just before the needle-bar finishes its stroke, increasing the tension upon Y and straining the thread in such a manner that the I last stitch is drawn tight at a time when the needle-thread is not subject to abrasion either in the eyeof the needle or in passing on or off the looper.

, The manner in which I construct my machine is simple and very cheap, while it is strong and little liable to wear or get out of order. Nearly all the bearing-points in the portions made of cast-iron-as the shaft 0, needle-bar D, pressure-bar O, and bell-crank lever Fare cast within nicely-fitted wroughtiron cores or molds, which give them form and smoothness, while it chills the bearing-surface and renders it as hard as hardened steel. These points therefore require no fitting, and they are so hard as to become but little worn with long use, and'being so hard and smooth the machine runs with less power than any 7 other machine with which Iam acquainted.

That peculiarly-smooth reciprocating motion which is the well-known property of that derived from a crank, beingcommunicated to all themoving parts of this machine, also con tributes to the ease of its operation, while all the motions being derived from one crank, it is perfectly immaterial in which direction the machine is turned. This is a great advantage in all machines which receive their power from a treadle, as they are constantly liable to be reversed.

Having now fully described my invention,

.what-I claim as new therein, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

1. Obtaining the required uniform vertical and adjustable horizontal movements necessary for an adjustable feeding mechanism from a continuous reciprocating motion by means of y the reciprocating wedge-face K, dog K, radial arm L, sleeve M, and adjustable bar N, or equivalent link, substantially as herein described. Y

2. The groove 2 and the inclined recess 5 in the looper G, in combination with such an ran gement and operation of needle and looper, as shown and specified, that the needle in descending shall touch the looper above the looper-thread, and shallbe deflected outward by the surface of the recess 5 and made to pass between the looper and the looper-thread, as described. a

3. The spring 1, whether single or forked, mounted on the looper-carrier Fand arranged to operate with the needle R and looper G, or their equivalents, in the manner and for the purpose herein set forth.

4. I do not claim the useon sewing-machines of a lever arranged to be struck by the point of the needle and carried along therewith, for such has been used for the purpose of giving motion to a looper; but I claim the use of the guide-spring H, in combination with a looper driven independently thereof, so that the needle may be more perfectly steadied, substantially as herein specified.

5. So arranging the friction-spring Q that it comes in contact with the rim of the spool Y,

after the needle has left the cloth,and releases the said spool by the return movement or descent of the needle-bar, for the purpose herein specified.

In testimony, whereof I have hereunto set my name in the presence of two subscribing witnesses. Y

JOSEPH 0. DAY.-

Witnesses: THOMAS D. STETSON, A. SNYDER. 

